Like this:

This is a picture I took at my friend’s daughter’s birthday party in September of 2012. The sun setting was just so beautiful. I thought I would share some warmth and joy with you before beginning my post.

I want to, again, say thank you for the support! Thank you for reading my stories, poems, and ramblings. Thank you for being a part of this! I have 70 followers now and I am so humbled by this. I feel weird calling you guys and dolls followers though, I am not some cult leader or something. So perhaps I will just call you my readers? Either way, thank you! When someone likes a post, it makes me smile. When someone leaves a comment, giving their feedback on what they think lets me know they really read what I had to say. When someone re-blogs what I posted, I know it made a lasting impression.

I have said it before and I will say it again, I started this blog because a friend suggested that I share my life with others in the hopes that I might inspire and touch other’s lives. I don’t do this to boost my ego. The more people that subscribe to my blog doesn’t suddenly make me think I am just so amazing. I don’t do it for fame. I just want to make a difference. I want others to read what I have to say and to leave my page having felt something, having been inspired. I want you to laugh, smile, cry, hope, dream, and feel alongside me.

A true artist doesn’t paint, sing, write, cook, etc simply for themselves. Yes, we enjoy what we do and it leaves us with pride and joy in our work. It brings us peace, makes us happy, allows us to express ourselves. But, we also want to share our work with others, to enjoy what we have created. A poem left unread, a painting left unseen, food left uneaten….that’s a shame. It should be enjoyed by others!

I view myself as an artist of sorts. My doodles leave something to be desired. I know I shall never have my work hung in museums. But as I said in earlier blog, art has many forms. I view my writing, singing, and photography as art. I even view my cooking as art sometimes. What I do is an extension of who I am. I share with you all so that you may get to know me. Look at the poems I write, the stories and even when it seems the main theme doesn’t fit me, if you delve deep enough, you will find a part of my soul within the words. Look at my photography, you will see what inspires me, what touches my life. Listen to me sing and you will hear my soul talking to you.

So yes, I share because I want you to know me and to make a difference and it seems that I have been able to accomplish both goals. Again, thank you for joining me in this. And of course, thank you for doing the same. I don’t do this simply to “hear myself talk” as it were. I joined this site to also join in on your journeys. I want to know you, to see what drives you, what inspires you. So, not only do I thank you for being a part of my life’s path, but thank you for allowing me to be a part of yours.